by Coach Mat | 19 Jan, 2019 | Attention, Attention/Focus, Competitive/Performance Training, Distraction, External Feedback, Feedback Loop, Fitness Training, Internal Feedback, Mental Training, Neurological Training, Self-Coaching, Swim Watch
In order to plan the next cycle of practices for a swimmer working towards a particular performance goal, I need to see various kinds of data from both their objective measurements and their subjective measurements. We are, after all, training the whole person to...
by Coach Mat | 8 Jul, 2017 | Attention/Focus, Boredom, Design Principles, Feedback Loop, Flow State, Kaizen (Continual Improvement), Mastery Process, Skill Mastery
This continues from Part 2 of our discussion of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s eight “characteristic dimensions of the flow experience” outlined in his book The Evolving Self. In The Evolving Self, Csikszentmihalyi is connecting the research findings he...
by Coach Mat | 22 Apr, 2017 | External Feedback, Feedback Loop, Focal Point Training, Internal Feedback, Self-Coaching, Skill Mastery
This is a continuation of Part 1… Replace Visual With Other Senses In both rehearsals and often in drill mode you can turn your head and watch what is happening with that body part . Or you might stand in front of a mirror or window. Or you might watch your...
by Coach Mat | 15 Apr, 2017 | External Feedback, Feedback Loop, How To Train?, Internal Feedback, Learning Methods, Neuromuscular Training, Proprioception, Self-Coaching
In a live training session the coach can watch and offer you vital feedback on how closely some part of your body position or movement pattern is matching the ideal. Then hopefully, they will also offer you practical guidance on how to bring it even closer. Some...
by Coach Mat | 25 Dec, 2016 | Attention/Focus, Drills For Skills, Feedback Loop, How To Train?, Internal Feedback, Learning Methods, Proprioception, Recommended Reading, Self-Coaching, Skill Mastery
Along with the previous article in this series describing the role of focal points (mental representations), we are getting to the heart of the practice with the feedback loop. If you have ever learned to play an instrument (or tried to) or just listened to music...
by Coach Mat | 17 Dec, 2016 | Competitive/Performance Training, Diving, Feedback Loop, Focal Point Training, Internal Feedback, Learning Methods, Mastery Process, Neuromuscular Training, Plateau (No Progress), Proprioception, Recommended Reading, Self-Coaching, Skill Mastery, Uncategorized
Anders Ericsson declares that “the main purpose of deliberate practice is to develop effective mental representations.” (page 75). It would therefore be very important that we figure out what mental representations are in the context of our deliberate swim...
